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Key Takeaways
- The S&P 500 eked out a gain of 0.1% on Friday, March 21, 2025, as the index snapped its weekly losing streak.
- Supermicro shares surged following an upgrade from JPMorgan analysts, who expect strong demand for Supermicro's servers built with Nvidia's Blackwell chips.
- Shares of Micron Technology tumbled as concerns about the chipmaker's gross margins overshadowed strong earnings results.
The final trading day of the U.S. week saw major U.S. stock indexes rise, ending their losing streaks.
The S&P 500 and Dow eked out a gain of 0.1% Friday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended 0.5% higher. All three posted gains for the week, with the Dow adding 1.2%, the S&P 500 advancing 0.5%, and the Nasdaq edging up 0.2%.
Super Micro Computer (SMCI) shares gained the most of any S&P 500 constituent on Friday, surging 7.8% after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to “neutral” from “underweight.” Analysts suggested that Supermicro may be able to benefit from the strong demand for AI infrastructure, and its servers which incorporate Nvidia (NVDA) Blackwell platforms.
Tesla (TSLA), too, saw a rise of 5.3%. Elon Musk told employees to “hang on” in a meeting held Thursday evening. The stock had lost half its value during the last few months.
Boeing (BA), a manufacturer of aircraft, saw its share price rise by 3.1% following President Trump’s awarding the company a contract for the F-47, a next-generation fighter plane for the U.S. Air Force. The Wall Street Journal, which did not disclose financial details, estimated that the costs of research, acquisition, and development could exceed $50 billion. Shares of Lockheed Martin (LMT), the defense contractor that lost out to its competitor, fell 5.8%.
Micron Technology (MU) shares tumbled 8%, posting the weakest daily performance in the S&P 500. The memory chipmaker reported better-than-expected profits and sales for its second fiscal quarter. However concerns over its gross margin trajectory prompted Citi analysts to reduce their price target.
Texas Pacific Land shares (TPL), a company that owns acreage in oil-rich Permian Basin fell 7.2% after reports surfaced that insiders had sold significant amounts of the company. The CFO, senior vice president and general attorney of the company were among those who recently sold shares. Investors often interpret the selling of shares by top executives as a sign of a lack confidence in a firm’s prospects.
FedEx (FDX), citing economic uncertainty, missed its quarterly profit expectations and cut its outlook for the full year. Analysts from UBS, Bank of America and Credit Suisse lowered their price target on FedEx shares. Shares of this package delivery giant dropped by 6.5% Friday.
Steelmaker Nucor’s (NUE) shares fell 5.8% after it announced a lower than expected profit forecast for the first three months of 2025. The company claimed that low steel prices are pushing down its average selling prices. It forecasted a decline in earnings from its steel product segment.
